5 STEPS TO RAISE YOUR BUSINESS TO AN EMPIRE.
FROM ZERO TO HERO
If there is one small business
statistic that stands out from the rest, it is the fact that an estimated 96%
of ventures fail within their first 10 years.
Conversely, this means that just 4
out of every 100 SMEs are able to achieve genuine longevity, regardless of the
precise market or industry that they operate in.
This may resonate with some of you,
particularly if your venture is less than 10 years old and beginning to show
signs of stagnation.
While the portents may not look
good, however, there is still time to adapt a proactive mind-set and turn your
failing business around.
Of course, there are numerous
factors that can cause your business to fail, from the impact of macroeconomics
to the levels of real-time demand for your products or services. While some of
these factors will be unique to your venture and reside outside of your
control, however, there are others that are universally relevant and capable of
being resolved by an open and strategic mind.
1.
Ensure That Your Business is Scalable
One of the biggest issues that
afflicts SMEs is a fundamental lack of organic growth, which can leave ventures
struggling to compete and remain relevant (particularly in competitive
markets).
This is usually the result of
underlying scalability issues, which occurs when you lack the resources to
expand your business infrastructure in line with rising demand or workloads.
Subsequently, businesses either
stagnate or attempt to increase their turnover without investing in additional
resources (which can impact negatively on the quality and reputation of your
brand).
Recognising this issue is the first
step towards resolving it, as it enables you to create and invest in a scalable
growth plan for the future. This provides opportunities to evaluate your
progress in real-time, while also allowing you to identify timely
This provides opportunities to
evaluate your progress in real-time, while also allowing you to
identify effective funding methods that can drive your growth. This
includes accessible alternatives to traditional lending, including factoring
and crowd-funding (both of which minimise risk and protect your short-term cash
flow levels).
This includes accessible
alternatives to traditional lending, including factoring and crowd-funding
(both of which minimise risk and protect your short-term cash flow levels).
2.
Reinvent Your Business and Business Model
While a high turnover may be a nice
thing to have, it is ultimately bottom line profit that determines your
businesses success or failure. This is something that SMEs can easily lose
sight of, causing them to lose money and market share as a result.
This is something that SMEs can
easily lose sight of, causing them to lose money and market share as a result.
At this stage, you may want to
reconsider reinventing your business or the precise model that underpins it.
Since the turn of the century, the
leading entrepreneurs have stated that businesses derive strength from the
flexibility of their models, as this enables them to evolve and seek out brand
new competitive advantages over time.
Whether this involves expanding in a
new and relevant niche or diversifying your range of income streams, it is
crucial that you are proactive in your approach and afford your venture options
in the future.
Most importantly, this equips your
business to adapt quickly to the changing demands of the marketplace, whether
this relates to evolving consumer behavior or the way in which products need to
be manufactured.
3.
Have a Clearly Defined Focus and Value Proposition
Let’s be clear; creating a flexible
and evolutionary business model does not mean becoming all things to all
people. Instead, it allows your venture to grow in line with the demands
of the market and it’s core identity, while retaining its core value
proposition and a clearly-defined focus.
Unfortunately, too many SMEs lose
their focus as they look to grow, meaning that their products and target
segments become confused. This is a common factor that undermines business
success, as it leads to ineffective marketing and relatively low sales
conversion rates.
To avoid this, your business must
retain a defined niche and value proposition that is synonymous with its
overarching brand. Additionally, when you do expand into new markets or
extend your existing product range, be sure to research and define your precise
target audience as a starting point.
4.
Focus on Building Long-term Relationships with Customers
We have already extensively
discussed the wide range of small business marketing tips to drive growth on a
low-budget, but we’ve also touched on the failure rate for SMEs within 10
years, and studies have also suggested that a staggering 80% of start-ups
collapse within 18 months. Although this highlights many potential risks to new
businesses, it also exposes the dangers of short-term thinking when starting a
brand new venture.
Undoubtedly, the failure to plan and
think in the longer-term is one of the main reasons why so many SMEs struggle.
After all, if you intend to achieve longevity and establish a successful
business that can survive the harsh realities of the global economy, you must
have a deterministic approach that is focused on long-term growth and the
cultivation of sustainable consumer relationships.
Your marketing and brand efforts must,
therefore, extend beyond merely attempting to sell individual products, and
instead look to drive awareness, loyalty and long-term trust among customers.
This will ensure repeat business for
your company, helping you to maintain a consistent market share that can be
built on over time.
5.
Empower Your Staff as the Saviours of your Business
Once your company begins to
experience a period of decline, you will notice an impact on every aspect of
the business. This means that the morale and the productivity of your staff can
suffer as a result, particularly when they are not involved in strategic
planning or empowered as key components of the business.
This negative can be turned into a
positive, however, in a similar way to how customer service representatives
have recently evolved into a proactive, front-line marketers. These
individuals are now seen as skilled communicators who interact with customers
when they actively engaged with the brand, rather than being undervalued as
token employees who simply process and manage complaints.
Similarly, you can empower your employees
as the potential saviors of your ailing business, involving them in strategic
brainstorming sessions and encouraging them to deploy skills such as
problem-solving, initiative and creative thinking.
By creating a culture of empowerment
and training your staff members to negate any potential skills gaps, you can
breathe new life into a struggling business and create a clear path towards
future growth.
The
Last Word
Ultimately, the factors that are
causing your business to flat-line will determine the precise course of action
that you take as a response. My universal tips will hopefully help you
to identify some of the common issues that plague small business, while
enabling you to create strategies that can overcome them.
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